For the first time in its history, the Sheriff’s Department has
created a voluntary mounted search and rescue team made up of 31
San Benito County residents to assist in locating missing people or
assist in times of disaster.
For the first time in its history, the Sheriff’s Department has created a voluntary mounted search and rescue team made up of 31 San Benito County residents to assist in locating missing people or assist in times of disaster.
The team, which was approved in early February by the Board of Supervisors, is the first step toward implementing a full-fledged search and rescue component in the county, said Sheriff Curtis Hill.
The unit is designed to assist deputies and surrounding agencies with no cost to the county because all the volunteers pay for their own horses, equipment and training, Hill said.
“They’re already talking about really coming together as a team,” Hill said. “It’s a great, positive experience and opportunity for people to get involved with something worthwhile.”
Of the 58 counties in the state, with the exception of San Francisco because it is an urban county, San Benito was the only county not to have any type of search and rescue team, said Deputy Jeff Goodwin, the team’s commander.
“San Benito was really behind the eight-ball as far as search and rescue goes,” he said. “It’s a good thing for the community because the volunteers give 100 percent. They’re there because they want to be there.”
After advertising for the unit, the department sent out approximately 200 applications, of which about 40 were returned, Goodwin said.
While the department is pleased with the turnout, it is still accepting applications for anyone interested in being a part of it, he said.
Financial officer and county resident Kim Du Pont joined the team because she has always been civic-minded, is a horse enthusiast and thought this would be a great way to do something for the community, she said.
So far, the team has been practicing, training their horses and learning proper methods of search and rescue, she said.
“I think we have a very good, diverse group of people – people who ride horses for a living and people where it’s just a weekend pleasure to them,” Du Pont said.
Juggling the unit between work, family and the rest of her life is something that comes with any kind of community service, she said.
“When you get involved in the community, like everybody should, it’s one of the things you have to make a part of the way you live,” she said. “My husband is hoping I’ll get a horse for him and he can do it, too.”
The team will be used in locating missing or lost children, Alzheimer’s patients or hunters and hikers that are lost, and a host of other duties involved with search and rescue, Hill said.
Volunteers will receive training and certification in First Aid, CPR, and basic search and rescue techniques such as how to use a compass and navigate horses through different types of terrain, he said.
After the initial training and certification, they will attend monthly training sessions to hone their skills, Hill said.
“It’s an incredible thing to watch the level of interest people have, that they want to give back to the community,” Hill said. “It all came about when some people got a hold of me and said, ‘Have you ever considered a mounted search and rescue team? There’s interest in your community.'”
The volunteers will be officially sworn in by Hill on Saturday at Bolado Park.
Anyone interested in being part of the team should contact Deputy Jeff Goodwin at the Sheriff’s Department at (831) 636-4080, or log onto the Web site at www.sbcsheriff.org.
